wild about play
outdoor NURSERYWe are a full time outdoor education nursery for children aged 2-5 years old operating from 9am until 3pm.
FOREST SCHOOL outdoor NURSERY
Our aim is to help our children have the best possible start to life physically, emotionally and cognitively. Our high staff to child ratios 1:4 with amazing educators allows for a very close and engaged experience for our children helping them thrive. We believe that children are continually learning from their surroundings and the outdoors is the perfect place for them to do so whilst creating a connection to nature in the community that gives an important sense of belonging to each other and their natural environment.
EYFS LEARNING
Combining the Early Years Framework Stage (EYFS) curriculum with outdoor, child-directed play, our nursery sessions give children the opportunity to grow and learn in a practical, hands-on way. Our qualified practitioners curate engaging sessions that spark the imagination and allow children to thrive in all seven stages outlined by the EYFS curriculum to help shape their formative years and prepare them for life. We prioritise the following areas for development:
- Building lifelong cognitive foundations for physical and mental health
- Curious learning and creativity
- Expression unique to each child
Find out more by clicking on each section here.
What is a forest school?
Forest school is a child centred way of learning that embraces the outdoors and offers inspirational holistic learning for children and adults. With its origins in Denmark, Forest school philosophy and learning has recently grown in its significance and popularity in the UK for its ability to support exploration, inspirational play and learning and supported risk taking.
At its best Forest School is a long term and regular programme that unleashes individual learning, curiosity and inspires the child to create becoming risk taking, resilient, happy learners along the way.
Here at Wild about Play we embrace the best of Forest school. Our children thrive in our roof top garden everyday and are in the woods in the centre of Putney every day exploring, creating, collaborating and critically problem solving. Forest school offers a fantastic grounding and education for nursery and primary age students. For more details on Forest school not contained on this page please visit the Forest school association website on
What are the advantages of a Forest School?
Forest school methodology produces resilient, independent and enriched learners who thrive in hands on experiences in natural settings.
The connection with nature is distinct and ongoing as children thrive in the wild and develop a deep empathy as they play, understand and problem solve in nature. This understanding leads to concerns over sustainability and a distinct awareness of where their place is on the planet.
Many educators and parents site the notable length of concentration that many forest school learners have as their senses are all heightened in the wild and this translates back into anything they decide to focus on even when indoors.
Above all forest school and being immersed in nature does wonders for children’s mental health and happiness.
What are the disadvantages/ cons of Forest school?
Leaving forest school education and joining school after nursery and preschool can be hard for some children.
Some parents and educators relay that children find the “big school” processes and procedures hard to adjust to after being in the wild for all of the early years and this can cause some distress. More research is needed in this area.
At Wild about Play we are proud to embrace the best of best of forest school while also giving children a taste for “big school” and making sure they are prepared for some of the expectations as they move from nursery to reception. Based on a beautiful roof top garden on top of a school we do this by ensuring our children receive all the benefits of forest school while also being exposed to some of the routines required in reception and later in primary school. With our location on the roof top garden of a school we are fortunate to have the ownership and space of a “home away from home experience” while also having the 22 acres of woodland in Putney and Barnes on our doorstop as well as a beautiful river which we use for our boats and raft making.
Our children are immersed in the wild and yet are not too far away from the reality of school so it is all “normalised” in their routines and individual brain connections!
Registration Process
Step 1: Register your interest in our sessions to begin the process of joining our waiting list
Step 2: Join us for an open visit session and finalise your childs’ placement with us
Step 3: Attend some of the settling in session and watch your child grow.
Our Hours
We run our nursery days from sessions 9am-3pm every day.
Please speak to our team during your booking to discuss your options.
FEES
Our fees for 3 year olds are £85 per day, and £87 for two year olds with a minimum of two sessions a week required to ensure your child gets the most out of our nursery. Before your child does a full day with us we generally advise a minimum of two settling in days (dependent on the child) at £65 per session (usually 2 hours per session).
We have a one- off enrolment fee of £495 (non-refundable) which secures your child’s place at our nursery and includes a set of Didrikson’s waterproofs for your child.
We bill on a termly basis – terms are usually 12 weeks, excluding a week for half-term. Government funding and childcare vouchers are accepted – please speak to our team if you’re interested in using these. Please note that we access the Government funding on your behalf whether this is for the 15 hours universal entitlement, 30 hours or 2 year old funding. Please speak to us for more details or view the Government website.
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